Top 5 Bank Companies To Invest In Right Now

Many of us may have a small share of the country's largest banks in our wallet: a debit card, a credit card, or for the old-schoolers, a checkbook.

And each month we get a statement showing our account activity, not the banks'...

That's because there's a staggering number that the banks will never show you, or even reference, on the statement...

Yet it directly impacts what you're paying them... this month... and for years to come.

It's the staggering amount of fines that they've paid out for a litany of misdeeds.

They're all here, in one place. You'll be shocked to see how colossal they are...

The "Gang of Six" Are the Biggest Offenders

The sheer number of abuses the six largest banks in the U.S. have committed - and I'm talking about the giant too-big-to-fail, too-big-to-jail banks - JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley - is enormous.

But not as enormous as the sums they've paid in fines and settlements...

Top 5 Bank Companies To Invest In Right Now: Nomura Holdings Inc (NRSCF)

Nomura Holdings, Inc. is engaged in the investment and financial services business with a focus on securities business. The Company's business operations include financing, asset management, securities trading and brokerage, underwriting and sale of securities, private placement of securities, own funds Investment activities, and other securities and finance-related activities. As of March 31, 2013, the Company owned 738 consolidated subsidiaries. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Daniel Inman]

  Securities firms were in focus in Tokyo after Nomura Holdings (JP:8604) � (NRSCF) �and Daiwa Securities Group (JP:8601) � (DSECF) �reported second-quarter earnings. Daiwa rose 3.4% after reporting its net profit slid 38% on the previous quarter on decreased equity trading, which was above consensus expectations. Analysts say it already is factored into the price.

Top 5 Bank Companies To Invest In Right Now: Westpac Banking Corp (WBK)

Westpac Banking Corporation (Westpac), incorporated on August 23, 2002, is a banking organization. Westpac provides a range of banking and financial services, including retail, business and institutional banking, and wealth management services. It operates through three divisions: Australian Financial Services (AFS), Westpac Institutional Bank (WIB) and Westpac New Zealand. AFS encompasses Westpac�� retail and business banking operations in Australia, and includes the businesses of Westpac Retail & Business Banking, St.George Banking Group and BT Financial Group Australia (BFTG). Westpac RBB is responsible for sales and service for Westpac�� consumer, small-to-medium enterprise customers and commercial customers in Australia under the Westpac brands. St.George is responsible for sales, and service for its consumer, business and corporate customers in Australia under the St.George, BankSA, Bank of Melbourne and RAMS brands. BTFG is Westpac�� Australian wealth management division. WIB delivers a range of financial services to commercial, corporate, institutional and government customers with connections to Australia and New Zealand. Westpac New Zealand is responsible for the sales and service of banking, wealth and insurance products for consumers, business and institutional customers in New Zealand. In January 2014, the Company completed the acquisition of Lloyds Banking Group Plc�� Australian asset finance business, Capital Finance Australia Limited, and its Australian corporate loan portfolio, BOS International (Australia) Ltd.

Westpac RBB

Westpac RBB�� activities are conducted through its network of branches and business banking centers, home finance managers (HFMs) and specialized consumer and business relationship managers, with the support of cash flow, financial markets and wealth specialists, customer service centers, automated teller machines (ATMs) and Internet channels.

St.George

Consumer activities are conducted through a networ! k of branches, third party distributors, call centers, automated teller machines (ATMs), electronic funds transfer point-of-sale (EFTPOS) terminals and Internet banking services. Business and corporate customers are provided with a range of banking and financial products and services, including specialist advice for cash flow finance, trade finance, automotive and equipment finance, property finance, transaction banking and treasury services. Sales and service activities for business and corporate customers are conducted by relationship managers through business banking centers, Internet and customer service centre channels.

BTFG

BTFG�� funds management operations include the manufacturing and distribution of investment, superannuation and retirement products; investment platforms, such as Wrap and Master Trusts, and private banking and financial planning. Its Insurance solutions cover the manufacturing and distribution of life, general and lenders mortgage insurance. BTFG�� brands include Advance Asset Management, Ascalon, Asgard, BT, BT Investment Management (64.5% owned by Westpac), BT Select, Licensee Select, Magnitude, Securitor and the advice, private banking and insurance operations of Bank of Melbourne, BankSA, St.George and Westpac.

Westpac Institutional Bank (WIB)

WIB operates through industry relationship and specialist product teams, with knowledge in transactional banking, financial and debt capital markets, specialised capital, margin lending, broking and alternative investment solutions. Customers are supported through branches and subsidiaries located in Australia, New Zealand, the United States, United Kingdom and Asia.

Westpac New Zealand

Westpac conducts its New Zealand banking business through two banks in New Zealand; Westpac New Zealand

Limited, and Westpac Banking Corporation. Westpac New Zealand operates through network of branches and ATMs across both the North and South Islands. Business an! d institu! tional customers are served through relationship and specialist products teams. Banking products are provided under the Westpac and WIB brands, while insurance and wealth products are provided under Westpac Life and BT brands.

Westpac�� other business divisions includes Pacific Banking, which provides banking services for retail and business customers in seven Pacific countries. Branches, ATMs, telephone banking and Internet banking channels are used to deliver its business activities in Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Cook Islands, Tonga, Solomon Islands and Samoa. Pacific Banking�� financial products include personal savings accounts, business transactional accounts, personal and business lending products, business services and a range of international products; Group Services which include technology, banking operations, legal and property services; Treasury which focuses on management of the Group�� interest rate risk and funding requirements, and Core Support which include functions performed centrally including finance, risk and human resources.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dividend]

  Westpac Banking (WBK) has a market capitalization of $444.52 billion. The company employs 36,000 people, generates revenue of $33.259 billion and has a net income of $5.444 billion. Westpac Banking�� earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounts to $17.537 billion. The EBITDA margin is 52.73 percent (the operating margin is 49.28 percent and the net profit margin 33.57 percent).

• [By Bryan Perry]

  Lloyds has several catalysts working in its favor. The bank has been busily disposing of assets that it views as non-core — the latest being a $1.45 billion ($1.37 billion U.S.) disposition of Australian operations to Aussie banking giant Westpac (WBK). In addition, Lloyds said it hopes to pay out as much as 70% of earnings as a dividend by 2016, which as a high-yield editor, has my full attention. This puts shares on a prospective yield for 2016 of more than 7% if earnings come in as projected.

• [By Selena Maranjian]

  More than a handful of international companies had strong performances over the past year. Australia-based Westpac Banking (NYSE: WBK  ) , for example, soared 54% -- and still yields a fat 5.4%. It's been hampered, though, by the slowdown in China, as China uses many commodities produced by Australia. Some worry about a housing slowdown hurting the company, too.

• [By Fede Zaldua]

  Most Australian banks seem to comply with (1) and (2). On the other hand, Australian banks have a loan to deposit ratio of 120% and around 9% of their funding is short term foreign funding. This means that their results shall be severely damaged by a steep depreciation of the local currency. A good example of a bank that is easy to short from the US (since it trades in the New York Stock Exchange) is the Westpac Banking Corporation (WBK). Westpac generates 90% of its revenues domestically and sells for 2014 13.1 times earnings and 2.1 times its 2014 expected book value. That said, there is one problem that you will find when you short Westpac's shares: The bank pays a +5% cash dividend yield.

Top Rising Companies To Watch For 2015: Signature Bank (SBNY)

Signature Bank (the Bank) is a full-service commercial bank with 25 private client offices located in the New York metropolitan area serving the needs of privately owned business clients and their owners and senior managers. The Bank offers a variety of business and personal banking products and services through the Bank, as well as investment, brokerage, asset management and insurance products and services through its wholly owned subsidiary, Signature Securities Group Corporation (Signature Securities), a licensed broker-dealer and investment adviser. Through Signature Securities, it also purchases, securitizes and sells the guaranteed portions of the United States Small Business Administration (SBA) loans. The Bank offers a variety of deposit, escrow deposit, credit, cash management, investment and insurance products and services to its clients. As of December 31, 2011, the Bank maintained approximately 78,000 deposit accounts, 6,900 investment accounts, 8,600 loan accounts and 14,300 client relationships. In April 2012, it formed a new subsidiary, Signature Financial, LLC.

The Bank offers a range of products and services oriented to the needs of its business clients, including deposit products, such as non-interest-bearing checking accounts, money market accounts and time deposits; escrow deposit services; cash management services; commercial loans and lines of credit for working capital and to finance internal growth, acquisitions and leveraged buyouts; permanent real estate loans; letters of credit; investment products to help better manage idle cash balances, including money market mutual funds and short-term money market instruments; business retirement accounts, such as 401(k) plans, and business insurance products, including group health and group life products. It offers a range of products and services oriented to the needs of its high net worth personal clients, including interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing checking accounts, with optional features, such as debit/ autom! ated teller machine (ATM) cards and overdraft protection and, for its clients, rebates of certain charges, including ATM fees; money market accounts and money market mutual funds; time deposits; personal loans, both secured and unsecured; mortgages, home equity loans and credit card accounts; investment and asset management services, and personal insurance products, including health, life and disability.

Lending Activities

The Bank�� commercial and industrial (C&I) loan portfolio is consisted of lines of credit for working capital and term loans to finance equipment, company owned real estate and other business assets, along with commercial overdrafts. Its lines of credit for working capital are generally renewed on an annual basis and its term loans generally have terms of 2 to 5 years. The Bank�� lines of credit and term loans typically have floating interest rates, and as of December 31, 2011, approximately 61% of its outstanding C&I loans were variable rate loans. As of December 31, 2011, funded C&I loans totaled approximately 15% of its total funded loans. The Bank�� real estate loan portfolio includes loans secured by commercial and residential properties. It also provides temporary financing for commercial and residential property. As of December 31, 2011, funded real estate loans totaled approximately $5.74 billion, representing approximately 80% of its total funded loans. It issues standby or performance letters of credit, and can service the international needs of its clients through correspondent banks. As of December 31, 2011, its commitments under letters of credit totaled approximately $235.7 million. Its personal loan portfolio consists of personal lines of credit and loans to acquire personal assets. As of December 31, 2011, its consumer loans totaled $11.8 million, representing less than 1% of its total funded loans.

Investment and Asset Management Products and Services

Investment and asset management products and services are ! provided ! through the Bank�� subsidiary, Signature Securities. Signature Securities is a licensed broker-dealer. Signature Securities is an introducing firm and, as such, clears its trades through National Financial Services, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Fidelity Investments. Signature Securities is also registered as an investment adviser in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Florida. It offers an array of asset management and investment products, including the ability to purchase and sell all types of individual securities, such as equities, options, fixed income securities, mutual funds and annuities. The Bank offers transactional, cash management type brokerage accounts with check writing and daily sweep capabilities. It also offers retirement products, such as individual retirement accounts (IRAs) and administrative services for retirement vehicles, such as pension, profit sharing, and 401(k) plans to its clients. Signature Securities offers wealth management services to its high net worth personal clients. Together with its client and their other professional advisors, including attorneys and certified public accountants, it develops a financial plan that can include estate planning, business succession planning, asset protection, investment management, family office advisory services, bill payment, art and collectible advisory services and concentrated stock services.

Sources of Funds

The Bank offers a variety of deposit products to its clients. Its business deposit products include commercial checking accounts, money market accounts, escrow deposit accounts, lockbox accounts, cash concentration accounts and other cash management products. Its personal deposit products include checking accounts, money market accounts and certificates of deposit. The Bank also allows its personal and business deposit clients to access their accounts, transfer funds, pay bills and perform other account functions over the Internet and through ATM machines. As of December 31, 2011, it main! tained ap! proximately 78,000 deposit accounts representing $11.70 billion in client deposits, excluding brokered deposits.

Insurance Services

The Bank offers its business and private clients an array of individual and group insurance products, including health, life, disability and long-term care insurance products through its subsidiary, Signature Securities. The Bank does not underwrite insurance policies. It only acts as an agent in offering insurance products and services underwritten by insurers.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Each month, Credit Suisse’s small-cap strategists ask the firm’s analyst to name their favorite small- and mid-cap stocks. This month, six new stocks made the list: RPM International (RPM), SunCoke Energy (SXC), Zions Bancorp (ZION), Signature Bank (SBNY), Edwards Lifesciences (EW) and�Rexnord (RXN).

Top 5 Bank Companies To Invest In Right Now: Cullen/Frost Bankers Inc (CFR)

Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (Cullen/Frost), incorporated in 1977, is a financial holding company and a bank holding company. The Company offers commercial and consumer banking services, as well as trust and investment management, mutual funds, Section 1031 property exchange services, investment banking, insurance, brokerage, leasing, asset-based lending, treasury management and item processing services. At December 31, 2011, Cullen/Frost had consolidated total assets of $20.3 billion. The Company operates in two segments: Banking and Frost Wealth Advisors. The Company serves a variety of industries including, among others, energy, manufacturing, services, construction, retail, telecommunications, healthcare, military and transportation. On January 1, 2012, the Company acquired Stone Partners, Inc., a Houston-based human resources consulting firm that specializes in compensation, benefits and outsourcing services. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company acquired an insurance agency in the San Antonio market area.

Cullen/Frost�� subsidiaries include The New Galveston Company, Cullen/Frost Capital Trust II (Trust II), The Frost National Bank (Frost Bank), Frost Insurance Agency, Inc., Frost Brokerage Services, Inc. (FBS), Frost Premium Finance Corporation, Frost Investment Advisors, LLC, Frost 1031 Exchange, LLC, Frost Securities, Inc. and Main Plaza Corporation. The Banking operating segment includes both commercial and consumer banking services, Frost Securities, Inc. and Frost Insurance Agency. Commercial banking services are provided to corporations and other business clients and include an array of lending and cash management products. Consumer banking services include direct lending and depository services. Frost Insurance Agency provides insurance brokerage services to individuals and businesses covering corporate and personal property and casualty products, as well as group health and life insurance products. Frost Securities, Inc. provides advisory and private equity s! ervices to middle market companies. The Frost Wealth Advisors operating segment includes fee-based services within private trust, retirement services, and financial management services, including personal wealth management and brokerage services. The parent company�� principal activities include the direct and indirect ownership of the Corporation�� banking and non-banking subsidiaries and the issuance of debt and equity.

The New Galveston Company

The New Galveston Company is a wholly owned second-tier financial holding company and bank holding company. The Company directly owns all of Cullen/Frost�� banking and non-banking subsidiaries with the exception of Cullen/Frost Capital Trust II.

Cullen/Frost Capital Trust II

Trust II is a business trust formed for the purpose of issuing trust preferred securities and lending the proceeds to Cullen/Frost. Trust II is a variable interest entity for which the Company is not the primary beneficiary.

The Frost National Bank

The Frost National Bank (Frost Bank) is primarily engaged in the business of commercial and consumer banking through approximately 115 financial centers across Texas in the Austin, Corpus Christi, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Rio Grande Valley and San Antonio regions. At December 31, 2011, Frost Bank had consolidated total assets of $20.3 billion and total deposits of $16.8 billion. Frost Bank provides commercial banking services to corporations and other business clients. Loans are made for a variety of general corporate purposes, including financing for industrial and commercial properties and to a lesser extent, financing for interim construction related to industrial and commercial properties, financing for equipment, inventories and accounts receivable, and acquisition financing, as well as commercial leasing and treasury management services.

Frost Bank provides a range of consumer banking services, including checking accounts, savings progra! ms, autom! ated teller machines, overdraft facilities, installment and real estate loans, home equity loans and lines of credit, drive-in and night deposit services, safe deposit facilities, and brokerage services. Frost Bank provides international banking services to customers residing in or dealing with businesses located in Mexico. These services consist of accepting deposits, making loans, issuing letters of credit, handling foreign collections, transmitting funds, and to a limited extent, dealing in foreign exchange.

Frost Bank acts as correspondent for approximately 316 financial institutions, which are primarily banks in Texas. These banks maintain deposits with Frost Bank, which offers them a range of services, including check clearing, transfer of funds, fixed income security services, and securities custody and clearance services. Frost Bank provides a range of trust, investment, agency and custodial services for individual and corporate clients. These services include the administration of estates and personal trusts, as well as the management of investment accounts for individuals, employee benefit plans and charitable foundations. Frost Bank�� Capital Markets Division offers services, such as sales and trading, new issue underwriting, money market trading, and securities safekeeping and clearance.

Frost Insurance Agency, Inc.

Frost Insurance Agency, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Frost Bank. Frost Insurance Agency, Inc. provides insurance brokerage services to individuals and businesses covering corporate and personal property and casualty insurance products, as well as group health and life insurance products.

Frost Brokerage Services, Inc.

FBS is a wholly owned subsidiary of Frost Bank. FBS provides brokerage services and performs other transactions or operations related to the sale and purchase of securities of all types.

Frost Premium Finance Corporation

Frost Premium Finance Corporation is a who! lly owned! subsidiary of Frost Bank. Frost Premium Finance Corporation makes loans to qualified borrowers for the purpose of financing their purchase of property and casualty insurance.

Frost Investment Advisors, LLC

Frost Investment Advisors, LLC is a registered investment advisor entity and a wholly owned subsidiary of Frost Bank. Frost Investment Advisors, LLC provides investors access to various Frost-managed mutual funds.

Frost 1031 Exchange, LLC

Frost 1031 Exchange, LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Frost Bank. Frost 1031 Exchange, LLC assists customers in structuring the exchange of property such that the transactions result in a tax-deferred exchange in compliance with Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code.

Frost Securities, Inc.

Frost Securities, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of The New Galveston Company. Frost Securities, Inc. provides advisory and private equity services to middle market companies in Texas.

Main Plaza Corporation

Main Plaza Corporation is a wholly owned non-banking subsidiary of The New Galveston Company. Main Plaza Corporation occasionally makes loans to qualified borrowers.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sarah Jones]

  Richemont (CFR) rallied 8.3 percent to 73.80 Swiss francs, the biggest gain since December 2008. The Swiss company said full- year net income climbed about 30 percent as the dollar�� strength against the euro boosted sales growth. Analysts had expected a 25 percent gain in profit, according to the average of 17 estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

• [By Namitha Jagadeesh]

  UniCredit SpA and Standard Chartered Plc climbed more than 2 percent each as a gauge of lenders advanced. Randgold Resources Ltd. and Polymetal International Plc jumped more than 8 percent as the price of gold rose. Cie. Financiere Richemont SA (CFR) and Swatch Group AG advanced more than 1 percent as a report showed Swiss watch exports increased last month.

• [By Jack Adamo]

  Steve Halpern: Another new recommendation is Cullen/Frost Bankers (CFR). There you've been recommending the 5.375% Perpetual Preferred Series A (CFR-PA). Now, you call Cullen/Frost one of the best little banks in Texas. What makes this such an attractive issue?

• [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]

  AlamyCitizens Bank ranks the No. 1 financial institution among baby boomers. Each stage of life brings with it a unique set of challenges to overcome and benchmarks to hit -- and this is especially true when it comes to banking. Although financial institutions target millennials heavily, baby boomers (Americans born between 1946 and 1964) are still the most represented generation among today's banking customers. A December Gallup poll revealed that 89 percent of baby boomers have at least one checking, savings or money market account. With more than 75 million baby boomers in the United States, there's a greater demand for financial institutions that cater to the boomer lifestyle. 3 Things Baby Boomers Need Most From Banks The youngest baby boomers have reached seniority in the labor force, while the oldest members of this generation have entered retirement. Both ends of the spectrum have vastly different circumstances when it comes to income, but no matter their age, boomers have three main banking needs. 1. Customer Service. Customer service comes in many forms, whether from an in-person associate at a brick-and-mortar branch or an attendant at a small kiosk in a local grocery store. Boomers have grown up with institutions that rely on real-life, person-to-person transactions that allow them to talk through terms and conditions and have questions addressed. Physical bank branches are necessary in order to fulfill this service expectation. As more financial institutions have turned to online and mobile banking, some baby boomers who are slow to adapt to banking technology have been isolated as a result. 2. Retirement Planning. With the average life span in the U.S. expanding each year, and so many baby boomers on the road to retirement, the need for retirement planning resources becomes more and more pressing for many banking customers. "In my experience, the most stressful situation that baby boomers encounter is the fear of running out of money d

Top 5 Bank Companies To Invest In Right Now: China Banking Corp (CHIB)

China Banking Corporation (CHIB) is a Philippines-based company engaged in the business as the privately owned local commercial bank in the Philippines. The Bank caters to the Chinese-Filipino commercial sector, retail and consumer segments. The Bank�� market consists of the corporate, commercial, middle and retail markets. Its businesses include deposit taking, corporate and middle market lending, retail loans including mortgage and auto loans, investment banking, insurance products through its subsidiaries, treasury and foreign exchange trading, trust and investment management, wealth management, cash management, Internet banking and mobile banking services, inward remittances through tie-ups with remittance companies and exchange houses in the Middle East, Asia and United States cities. Effective January 17, 2014 China Banking Corp acquired a 84.77% interest in Planters Development Bank. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By pamatlarge]

  Investors looking to short a particular sector can choose from several Global X long ETFs. The Global X China Consumer ETF (CHIQ) concentrates its investments in consumer cyclical goods and consumer defense goods. The Global X China Energy ETF (CHIE) primarily holds stocks in coal, oil and utility companies. The Global X China Financials ETF (CHIX) only invests in financial services companies and real estate companies. The Global X China Industrials ETF (CHII) holds stocks in industrial companies and basic materials companies. The Global X China Materials ETF (CHIM) invests in basic materials stocks. The Global X China Technology ETF (CHIB) holds technology stocks as the core of its investments. All of these ETFs are particularly sensitive to sector downturns and general economic contractions.